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Administrative Support Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS)

Summary

The Administrative Support Assistant is located within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Medical Center (VAMC) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The mission of VHA is to honor America's veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and wellbeing. South Texas Veterans Health Care System ( STVHCS) is an integrated system organized to provide comprehensive health care services to eligible veterans in South Texas.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad-Hoc as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$51,201 - $66,563 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Promotion potential
7
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CAZM-13082172-27-CT
Control number
888430900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This is an internal job announcement. This is announcement is open to current permanent facility employees, current permanent VA employees, and CTAP

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Coordinating daily operations of clinic services necessary to provide a continuum of care for veterans.
  • Administration of the VA health care benefits and specialty evaluation program for primary care.
  • Establishing and implementing contingency plans for ensuring patient receive continuity of and access to appropriate care during periods of inadequate resources, staff absences, staff turnover, understaffing, and nature-related events including but not limited to maintaining a cadre of qualified staff willing to provide coverage responsibilities on short notice continuous recruitment and hiring or staff; estimating future needs and predicting supply demand and assessing unmet staffing needs and gaps.
  • Served as a contracting officer representative (COR) for all contracts pertaining to the OCP in primary care.
  • Develop and implement controls verifying payments for service received are appropriate.
  • Conduct negotiations make recommendations on contracts and other agreements prior to execution.
  • Reviews and provide input on local issues or regulations policy and report related to primary care operations.
  • Provides expert consultation to group practice manager on access procedures and systems to assure services provided nationally accepted standards that are at least equal to those available in the community and are maximally cost effective.
  • Integrate VHA system performance measures and goal into ambulatory care system processes.
  • Educate staff on performance goals and implement clinic process changes to meet goals such as screening tools, medical record template changes, change in clinic schedules, etc.
  • Ensures record management guidelines are adhered to in the clinic setting.
  • Coordinate efforts to ensure patient concerns are received, evaluated, and addressed in a timely and efficient manner by the appropriate subject matter expert.
  • Analyze clinic patient feedback for access and quality measure.
  • Establish benchmark and a process for taking corrective actions on decreasing/low scores in Veteran/Staff experience data.
  • Establishes communication plan with the clinic teams relating to the plan of action in accordance with the Veterans experience data.
  • Assist that GPM in integrating data and analytics and measures with continuous process improvement utilizing LEAN, SIX Sigma and other improvement methodologies to meet and sustain ambulatory care goes and objectives.
  • Utilize evidence access principles to improve workflow.
  • Assist in developing sustainment and continuous improvement plans for clinic teams; and presents continuous improvement plans to leadership, noting resource implications of recommendations.
  • Works with the service line of engineering, logistics, and Contracting Officer to manage clinic building operation.
  • Serves as member or chair on board of survey investigations.
  • Works with service of OIT so oversee and monitor clinic information technology usage and project capability requirements.
  • Develop project proposals and reports, based on finding to brief leadership and make recommendations regarding system-wide operations.
  • Coordinate with the group practice manager to predict and manage surges for purchase care.
  • Assists and support clinical and administrative leads in implementing actions designed to improve operations.
  • Analyze workload and develop action plans that will enable clinical grids to accurately reflect supply.
  • Uses advanced principles and strategies for Access Improvement to identify strategies to improve effectiveness or reduce backlog.
  • Overseas and monitor consultant management issues and provide guidance to clinical and administrative staff.
  • Develops both long and short-range policies and plans for the organization by coordinating the medical administrative needs of the clinic.
  • Work in partnership with the GPM to develop and maintain proper clinic utilization for complex outpatient clinics.
  • Analyze historical access and population data and coordinate ambulatory care medical administration needs for incorporation into operational plans.
  • Makes recommendations regarding primary care and specialty care demand not met and/or projected growth along with resources recommendation for in-house and purchase care.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework on a Ad-Hoc basis. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Administrative Support Assistant/PD01199A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/15/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of a full range of functional areas such as purchasing, supply management, records management, travel and related administrative areas to ensure compliance with established policies, practices, procedures, and controls; Ability to identify problem and potential problem areas based on daily observance or studies; Analyze and measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of administrative programs; Develop written and oral recommendations for improvement; Knowledge of administrative concepts, principles, and practices sufficient to foresee problems and perform studies designed to evaluate procedures/processes; Knowledge of tools, concepts and methodologies of Quality Assurance; Attention to detail, data collection, management and analysis problem solving.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Analysis and Problem Solving
  • Attention to Detail
  • Communications
  • Compliance
  • Computer Skills
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Leadership
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) is comprised of two inpatient campuses: the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio and the Kerrville VA Hospital in Kerrville, Texas. The STVHCS serves one of the largest primary service areas in the nation, with 35 counties, and is part of the VA Heart of Texas Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 17), with offices located in Arlington, Texas. Providing a service to Veterans with a working staff of more than 5900 employees, South Texas provides health care services for 114,000 Veterans.

The STVHCS is a facility providing primary, secondary and tertiary health care in medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine. It also supports a 90 bed Extended Care Therapy Center, a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, and a Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. Affiliated with UT Health San Antonio, the system has an active ambulatory care program with numerous satellite outpatient clinics.

Agency contact information

Christine Thompson
Email
christine.thompson9@va.gov
Address
Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital
7400 Merton Minter Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78229
US

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